While it contemplates cuts in other divisions and moving its corporate headquarters, Munich, Germany-based Infineon Technologies AG also today that its DRAM unit is using 0.11-micron process technology for volume manufacturing for DRAMs.

Samples of high-density 256Mbit DRAMs manufactured in the new 0.11-micron process have already been successfully validated at Intel Corp. and also delivered to strategic partners, Infineon said. The resultant smaller chips lead to a production cost advantage per chip of around 30 percent compared to Infineon's current volume process technology, according to the company.

The company also claims it gets 50 percent more chips per wafer than in its previous 0.14-micron process technology.  

"Our latest shrink version of the 256Mbit DRAM is the smallest 256Mbit device in the industry," Andreas von Zitzewitz, COO, said in a statement. "This results from the combination of the ultra-dense 0.11-micron process and our proprietary trench cell technology - which produces approximately 10 percent smaller chip sizes than competitive technologies at same feature size."

The company developed the 0.11-micron process at its Dresden, Germany 200mm wafer facility and is now ready to ramp volume production on both 200mm and 300mm fab lines. During ramp-up at Dresden the new process technology will also be transferred to the other facilities of Infineon's fab cluster, including Richmond, Virginia, the production joint venture with Nanya called Inotera Memories, and the company's DRAM foundry partner fabs.

Using 193nm lithography for its 0.11-micron process, Infineon claims it is the first DRAM maker to use the technology for volume production, and will benefit from the experience as 193nm litho is used for future technology nodes.

By: DocMemory
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